Tesla gets FTC approval to acquire Solar City in $2.6 billion deal

Despite skepticism from investors and analysts, US anti-trust regulators at the Federal Trade Commission gave Tesla their blessing to carry on with the purchase of Solar City.

Automotive News reports that the agreement, a $2.6 billion all-stock deal, was on a list of "early termination" transactions released by the FTC. It's not clear when Tesla will complete its purchase, but time probably won't be enough to erase the bad feelings this deal stoked with some of the company's shareholders.

We explained the tricky circumstances surrounding the acquisition in late June. Solar City is struggling, which isn't particularly damning in and of itself, but Elon Musk's relationship with the company is troubling. Musk is Solar City's largest shareholder and his first cousin is its CEO. Those facts led one analyst to compare the deal to a bailout. Meanwhile, six of SC's seven board members have direct ties to Tesla.

But while Musk's decision to purchase Solar City raised a furor, it's officially not monopolistic. Score one for Elon.